Process and apparatus for regulation of tone-producing quality of hammers in stringed musical instruments



Dec. 16, 1930. c. c. WOODS 1,785,165

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATIQN OF TONE PRODUCING QUALITY OF HAMMERS IN STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUNBNTS Filed May 18, 1928 INVENTOR. CHARGES C.WOODE BY W/flms ma 6 1 061.

' ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 16, 1930 PATENT OFFICE CHAR-LES CARLTON woons, or nENvEa, COLORADO PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR REGULATION or TONE-PRODUCING QUALITY or HAMMERS IN STRINGED MUsIoAL INSTRUMENTS Application filed May 18, 1928. Serial No. 278,858.

This invention relates to the regulation of the tone producing quality of hammers used to strike the strings of musical instruments for producing tones therefrom.

For simplicity and clarity the terminology of this specification will be largely that appropriate to piano hammers formed of felt, these being the principal or common subjects of application of the apparatus and process constituting this invention. V

The tone producing quality of such a ham.- mer depends, largely, on its condition or degree of hardness or compactness. This condition or degree is regulated or adjusted when the hammer is new and also after the hammer has been hardened or compacted by use, time or atmospheric conditions. In the latter case the regulation or adjustment is commonly referred. to as renewing, the pur- 2 pose usually being to reestablish substantially the original tone producing quality of the hammer. Frequently, however, a tone producing quality different from the original I is desired and in such case the term renewing is not a strictly correct name for the regulation or adjustment. For this reason the term voicing will frequently be used herein to designate any regulation or adjust ment of the tone producing qualityincluding the original regulation or adjustment of the new hammer as well as subsequent regulation and adjustment to either the original or to a new or diiIerent quality.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new process of voicing hammers in musical instruments. It

A further object is to provide an improved instrument for use in voicing hammers of musical instruments. y

A furtherobject is to provide an instrument for operating the said process with various modifications of portions of said instrument to adapt the same for use on hammers of various sizesand in the various locations in which the said hammers are positioned in such instruments. A further object is the provision of a process and instrument for voicing hammers of musical instruments without puncturing the material constituting the striking surface of the hammer.

A further object is the provision of a process and instrument for accomplishing the aforesaid objects with a minimum of-damage to the material forming the hammer and a maximum efficiency as to theexact- 'ness of-regulation of tone producing quality.

Having in view these and other objects, which will more fully appear from'the following specification and appended claims as well as from the accompanying drawing, the invention will be fully set forth in the following specification and claims and illustrated'in the accompanying drawing in which like characters of reference'indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views and in which:

Figure I is a side view of a form of pliers preferred for general use in the operation of my process.

Figure II is a detail viewof aportion of the jaws of such pliers in form modified for use in grand pianos.

Figure III is an edge view of the pliers shown in Fig. I.

.Figure IV is a detail view of a fragment of the jaws of the pliers with the preferred form of operating plates in place therein.

Figure V is a view on line AA of Fig. IV looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. V

Figure VI isaview on line 13-13 of Fig. V looking in the direction ofthe arrow.

Figure VII is a detail view illustrating the gripping of a hammer by one section of the operating plates,

Figure VIII is a detail view illustrating the needle plates-end view.

FigureIX is a plan View of one needle plate.-

FFigure X is a section on line 0-0 of Figure XI illustrates a modified form of plier for use on hammers So positioned as to require an off-set jaw to reach.

Piano hammers have heretofore been r method of voicing piano hammers, which has been and still is the established practice, damages the material forming the hammer and particularly that material forming the striking surface thereof; that the fibers of the material are punctured and destroyed and that the life of the hammer is materially shortened. lrloreover such method is not citicient in obtaining exactness of regulation of the tone producing quality.

I have discovered a process of manipulating such hammers which process avoids damage to the material forming the hammer and particularly to the striking surface thereof and at the same time such process is much more ei'ficient and exact in the regulation of the tone producing quality of the hammer.

My invention consists in a process of manipulating the material forming the hamber in such a manner as to produce the desired tone producing quality therein without puncturing the material forming the hammer and particularly without puncturing the striking surface thereof and my invention further consists in the provision of an appliance with suitable attachments thereto and modifications thereof to enable the operator to easily and efiectively operate my said process.

The process can be mostsimply described by describing the apparatus and then describing the operation of the apparatus upon the hammers. For operation of my new process of voicing hammers I provide an apparatus inthe form of pliers, here shown as the commonpivoted type having handles 1 and 2 pivoted at 3 and extending, respectively, into jaws 4tand 5. A thumb guard 6 is provided as a thumb rest and to prevent pinching the thumb of the operator in the narrow space between the handles adjacent pivot joint 3.

Spacing screw 7 is threaded through one jaw with end projecting against the other jaw for limiting the relative approach of the jaws. 7

One of the jaws is provided with a rounded surface as at 8 for use in rubbing, smoothing ofi', rounding and shaping the edges and striking surfaces of the hammers.

The other jaw is provided with a plu rality of ridges as at 9, which ridges correspend as to relative spacing, with the strings to be hit by the hammer, for forming, in the striking surface of the hammer, grooves similar to those formed by thestriking of the hammers against the strings. Y

Fig. XI shows conventionally a modification of the plier wherein the jaws are offset in order to more conveniently and effectively reach and manipulate certain hammers in certain parts of pianos. Theparticular hammers which can bemost conveniently reached by this form of plier will be obvious to those skilled in the art and no further description of this modification will be necessary. The manipulation of the hammer by this form of plier will be in substance the same as with the form of plier shown in Fig. I.

In Fig. II a modification of the j aw structure is illustrated the modification consisting of spreading the aws, so as to allow more space t-herebetween, back of the manipulating points or plates, hereinafter described, thus permitting the manipulation of a hammer l0 behind a set of strings 11 from in front of said strings, the space between the jaws permitting the plier to straddle the strings 1i and grip and manipulate the hammer 10 therebehind with the manipulating points or plates without affecting the strings, the space between the jaws being sufficient to allow considerable sidewise movementand twisting of the plier without sufficient pressure on the strings by the jaws to affect the strings or tension thereof. This modified form is especially adapted for use on the hammers of grand pianos.

Each of the jaws 4: and 5 terminates in a base plate 12 for attachment of the manipulating plates l3 by suitable means as screw la. Seats 15 are provided in base plate 12 for a lug 16 carried by manipulating plate 13 for steadying the latter.

The manipulating plates or points may be combinedinto a single four pointed plate 13,

the respective points being described as plain point 123a, notched point 137) having a notch 18b surrounded byaraised rim 13b, notched and lug point 130 having notch 130 and in 130 and roller point 13d having rollers 13d.

Fig. VII illustrates point 13a in operative position engaging a hammer 10 for manipulation thereof. It will be obvious that the screw 1% may be loosened and plate 13 revolved thereon so as to swing either of the other points 13?), 130 or 18d into the opera tive position occupied by point 13a in Fig. VII and also in Figs. IV and V, and itwill be noted that points 136 and 130 have squared, though notched, ends and that when point 136 is in operative position the squared end of point 180 will seat against shoulder 17 formed in the jaw thus more firmly securing plate 18. The same is true when point 130 is in operative position in which case the end of point 137) seats against shoulder 17.

In Figs. VIII and IX I have illustrated a modified form of manipulating plate carrying needle points 18 for penetrating the sides of the material forming the hammer and along and between the layers and fibers there of for loosening the interior of the hammer without puncturing the striking surface of the hammer or the layers of material.

The operation of my process by and with the illustrated apparatus described above, is as follows.

The first step: isthe elimination from the hammer of excessive compactness, stiffness or result from use and/or from climatic effects and are found in great variety as to degree and the first step of my process W111 be applied to greater or less degree and with greater or less vigor, according to the conditions found in a given case, ranging all the way from a light manipulation for a short period with only one of the points as 13a, to a vigorous and comparatively lengthy manipulation by each of the points in succession including the loosening up of the interior of the hammer by the needle points 18 where the condition of the hammer is such as to necessitate such interior loosening. It will be noted, however, that the needles will be inserted into the hammer at the sides of the hammer thus avoiding puncturing the striking surface of the hammer as is done in present practice. My method furthermore inserts the needles between or substantially parallel with the layers or grain of the material forming the hammer and thus, even when the needles are used, does only nominal damage to the fiber of the material as compared to that done by the present practice of inserting needles through the striking surface and across the grain or layers of material form ing the hammer.

Aside from the use of the needle points above described the first step of the process consists of manipulating the hammer on the sides thereof by a variety of manipulations the number and degree of which can be readily determined in any given case by those skilled in the art. Such manipulations include one or more of the operations of compressing, twisting, pulling, rolling, rubbing, etc, which may be applied by one or more of the points 13a to 13d both inclusive. For example the points 1306 may be used for compressing and forsome of the gentler twisting and pulling. The points 13?) and 130, being notched to straddle either the wooden core of the hammer or the intermediate section of material next the core, afford a more extensive grip on the hammer and thus make possible a more extensive compression and a more vigorous and extensive twisting and pulling. The rim 13b and the lugs 130 add to the efiectiveness of the grips of their respective points and also further afford further variations in the nature and extent of the manipulations.

When the points 13(Z;are used the rollers 13d give a rolling action upon the hammers as well as twisting, compressing, and other massaging.

Thus itwill be seen that this apparatus affords means for so manipulating the'material forming the hammers as to accomplish the first step of the process, namely, the elimination from such material of excessive compactness, hardness and stiffness, by manipulation and withoutpuncturing or otherwise injuring the striking surface of the hammer.

The second step of the process is the manipulation and shaping of the edge of the hammer including-the striking surface and the extent and details of this operation are likewise determined by the condition of the hammer treated but this step will include a rubbing of the edge of the hammer wlth the rounded surface 8 of the plier in order to further manipulate the same and to bring the edge to the desired contour and evenness of surface. Thereafter the ridges 9 are pressed into and/or rubbed acrossthe striking surface of the hammer to form therein depressions corresponding to the wires to be struck by the hammer.

Many changes may be made in details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of this specification and the appended claims.

I claim- 1. The process of voicing musical instrument hammers formed in layers comprising subjecting the opposite sides of the hammer simultaneously to a relatively opposed massaging action against the edges of the layers and then shaping the edge of the hammer.

2. The process of voicing musical instrument hammers formed in layers, comprising massaging the hammer by exerting pressure in opposed directions against the edges of the layers on opposite sidesof the hammer simultaneously and thereafter shaping the striking surface of the hammer.

3. In the process of voicing musical instrument hammers formed in layers, the step of lessening compactness, rigidity and hardness of the hammer by exerting pressure and massaging action upon the edges of the layers at the sides of the hammer.

47. In the process of voicing hammers of stringed musical instruments the step of lessening compactness and rigidity in the interior of the material forming the hammer consisting of projecting needle like points into the sides of the hammer in substantially parallel relation to the layers or grain of the hammer-forming material. I 5. A device for voicing hammers of stringed musical instruments comprising pliers having jaws carrying a pair of opposed plates having a plurality of pairs of massaging members and means for bringing into operative position any desired pair of said members.

' 6. A tool for voicing hammers of stringed musical instruments comprising pliers and a plurality of pairs of massaging devices adapted for attachment to the jaws of the pliers for simultaneous operation upon 0pposed sides of said hammers and means for bringing into and affixing in operative position any desired pair of said devices.

' 7 In a tool for voicing piano hammers and the like, in combination, pliers having jaws, a pair of plates having a plurality of pairs of massaging devices, said plates being revolubly attached to said jaws and means for locking said plates against revolution and with any desired pair of said devices in operative position.

8. As a new article of manufacture a piano hammer voicing tool comprising a plier hav ing hammer massaging devices carried by the jaws thereof, a hammer edge-shaping surface in one of the jaws and a device for forming string grooves on the other jaw.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

CHARLES CARLTON WOODS. 

